Dubai to host second Arab Social Media Influencers Summit

As per the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Press Club will organise the second edition of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS).

The event, which is set to attract prominent regional and international social media influencers and experts will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 6 to 7 December.

Mona Al Marri, President of Dubai Press Club and Chairperson of the organising committee of the event, said the summit aims to realise the vision of Sheikh Mohammed to encourage a constructive dialogue and come up with creative ideas to help in the development of the Arab society, especially in light of the belief of His Highness in the importance of using these communication mediums to better serve the Arab society.

Al Marri also explained that the summit leverages the historical East-West and North-South links that the location of the UAE offers and which had been proven to be a strategic trade route since ages.

"The UAE considers communication as a key principle," Al Marri said. "This is evident through the UAE leadership’s keenness to utilise new social media platforms in bringing together all components of the community and open direct communication channels with people in order to know their opinions and interact with their comments so as to be able to achieve their aspirations and ambitions."

Al Marri highlighted that this year’s edition aims to establish the summit as a regional and international platform to discuss and analyse real-time events that have been shaped by social media platforms.

Moreover, the summit aims to create and develop innovative ideas to promote these platforms’ positive impact that is far greater than the traditional media.

This also requires employing social media outlets to serve the community and the interests of individuals, promoting positivity and diminishing the negative impact of social media platforms.

Al Marri further added that dialogue is a key element to tap into the creative minds around the world and interact with new experiences, affirming that the summit succeeded in providing a space for ideas of prominent figures to discuss latest developments in social media.  

Speaking about the preparations ahead of the summit, Al Marri noted that the organising committee is finalising the summit’s topics and speakers selection, adding that the committee is keen to cover various topics and identify the best local, regional and international experiences in utilising social media platforms so as to better serve different sectors.

This year’s edition will concentrate on the development of innovative ideas and the avoidance of negative thoughts and false messages that have recently sprung up in the region due to the changes affecting the Arab World.

The first edition of the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit was held in March 2015, with the presence of around 2500 participants and 38 experts who discussed various aspects of social media in the context of social development in the Arab region.

Topics tackled included positivity as a method of communication, impact of social media platforms on human beings and overcoming challenges through social media.

Some sessions focused on the relationship between traditional and new media in shaping the future.

The first edition of the summit also saw the honouring of 37 winners of the Arab Social Media Influencers Award. Winners were recognised in 20 categories which are Government Sector, Private Sector, Blogs, Media, Sports, Tolerance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Education, Youth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Economy, Politics, Health, Arts, Safety and Security, Shopping, Tourism and Entertainment.

The ‘Buthoor Initiative’ was launched last year with the aim to provide a unique platform that brings together business incubators and institutions to support new projects from young entrepreneurs.

Last year, the hashtag of the summit was the first trending hashtag in the UAE and the fourth globally and generated 365 million impressions.

In addition, more than 800 local and regional media sources have covered the event and over 3 million users visited the event’s website. Moreover, search engines retrieved more than 80,000 results on the event.